Tag: plus fashion

We must, we must, we must ad”dress” your bust!

An appropriate and well-fitting bra is really important for building the “foundation” of your shape under a dress. Make sure your bra straps are adjusted so that your bust is supported correctly (you know how the straps can stretch out!). When you put on one of our dresses, your bust should sit above the waistband. This will make the dresses look and fit better and should eliminate your breasts being cut in half by the waistband. Yes ladies, lean forward, adjust your breasts up and over the band and then complete the pulling up of the zipper. Much like when you put on a bra.

“When you go dress shopping please wear a great fitting bra! A sports bra or no bra just doesn’t cut it to get the best fit”

Under Where?

What you wear on the lower half of your body is totally your preference. Our Cherry Velvet dresses have extra room across the tummy to give you enough room that it’s not necessary to wear anything special on the bottom. It’s totally up to you! We are a big fan of being able to look great AND breathe!

Online shopping

All our bra fitting tips are just as important for when you’re measuring yourself to find your best dress fit online as well. Put on a well-fitting bra before you take your measurements to find your size. We made a short video with some easy to follow instructions to help you take simple and accurate measurements. Check it out!

Once you have your measurements you can check out our comprehensive Sizing Chart to find your size. Or you can call or email with your measurements and we will always be happy to help you find your best fit.

When you wear your Cherry Velvet Dress…

Please make sure you’ve chosen a bra that fits well with good support. We know you want to look your best and feel totally gorgeous when you’re wearing one of our beautiful dresses.

XOX Cherry Velvet

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I have always loved classic vintage style clothing. Back in the summer of 2011 I came on board with Cherry Velvet, a brand new concept from designer Diane Kennedy. Diane and I had a professional relationship already as I had sold her bamboo clothing line successfully for a number of years. I had just exited my own 10 year venture selling plus size clothing in my own shop in Vancouver and I wasn’t ready to give up on working in fashion. This line was everything I ever wanted to wear and I was more than excited to take on my role as an international sales rep. I still remember the excitement of seeing the first dresses arrive in the studio. I knew then that this was a very special line and that it was a perfect fit for me in more ways than one.

The very first Cherry Velvet dresses back in 2011.

Life can be unpredictable. After about a year I moved on to a different job but I left on good terms and I guess I always felt that someday I would be involved somehow with this amazing brand. Time moves on in the most interesting ways sometimes. In February 2017 I was contacted by Diane who asked if she could hire my band to entertain her customers at a Valentine’s customer appreciation event at the Cherry Velvet studio. The gig was a lot of fun and I loved seeing how far the line had come in the last 6 years. So many wonderful dresses!! In March of this year Diane contacted me again and asked me to come work for her. The timing was so perfect and, well, here I am. My role here is a little different than the first time around and suits me perfectly. Isn’t life interesting?

I’ve had Cherry Velvet dresses longer than almost anyone else and here’s the kicker. Those very first dresses are still in rotation in my closet. Those dresses are over 6 years old and they still look the same as the day I got them. Vintage style doesn’t go out of fashion. It’s classic for a reason!

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We can spend our whole life avoiding them, living up to them and proving them wrong, but when it comes to your clothing are they really that important? Many articles have been written about the use of the term plus size. Many feel that it’s an outdated and marginalizing term that tries to put larger women into a less exciting and frumpy box.

The plus size clothing industry has come such a long way and smart consumers expect the same quality and attention to fit and detail as anyone else. Why wouldn’t we?
What if we just forgot about that label and concentrated on clothing companies that spend the time and effort making sure that what they make really fits properly and makes you feel fabulous?

Plus is not a size but it is a definition of clothing sizes and that’s really all it needs to be. In the clothing industry garments are grouped into different sizing clusters like Missy, Petite, and Tall and Plus is just another range of numbers that literally corresponds to a group of sizes. Before retailer Lane Bryant coined the term “plus” in it’s advertisements for “Misses Plus Sizes,” way back in 1922, women who didn’t fit the flapper form of slender and boyish figures were called “Stout.” It wasn’t until the fifties that the term “plus sized” came to be the norm, and the rest is history.

This is what allows me to stick my head into a cute clothing store and ask, “Do you carry Plus sizes?” If the answer is no, I am on my way.

Fashion rules are made to be stretched and broken according to what rocks your world and lights you up. Labels that we despise will always be around and one of the best things we can do is ignore them and create our own words and meanings to describe our fabulous selves. Don’t get hung up on the terminology. We aren’t saying that a world where size is just a number, and a size 2 and a size 20 are marketed and sold exactly the same wouldn’t be a wonderful dream, but until that happens the term “plus” can just mean “more”.

More Awesome! More Joy!, More Love! More clothes please!

Barb for Cherry Velvet XOX

P.S. The Dresses in the photo are the Shimona dress in Plum stag and can be found here

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A little while back, we wrote a blog about having the pleasure of shooting with Shelly, a long-time Cherry Velvet Enthusiast and friend of our designer, Diane. She was such a jewel to shoot & speak with that we ended up with so much great material!

Between her fantastic styling of our dresses & her incredibly affirming ideas about body positivity, we couldn’t resist writing one more blog…

…And so we invite you to let us take you on another fashion journey with Shelly…!

As we mentioned previously, probably one of the best parts of shooting with Shelly was her arsenal of accessories at our disposal:

You didn’t hear it from us, but there was more than a little fawning over her sparkly baubles and eye catching heels! But more than her jewelry, we loved the little golden nuggets of positivity that Shelly had to share with us. When asked what body positivity means to her, she most eloquently said:

“Body Positivity is an act of self-love. It is appreciating who and where you are in the moment and not subscribing to society’s conditioning and expectations. We’ve been told for so long that only a certain age and size should get positive attention, but that’s not right at all. After all my own trials and tribulations, I’m very happy with who I am.”

And we’re very happy she is who she is, too! Just look at how much she glows in our Paige – Tiffany Swizzle:

As she slipped on the dress + crinoline, we asked her what she thought of crinolines and she smiled,

“I’ve been wearing crinolines since I was 2! I love them. Nothing makes you feel more instantly feminine.”

We definitely concur!

Shelly never likes looking the same and enjoys how a simple change like pairing different accessories and removing the crinoline freshens up the whole look. As She styled herself, she waxed saucy humour about the versatility of our dresses.

“Women never like repeating themselves, am I right? That goes for when we’re talking and dressing up!”

Take another few chic looks at this chick’s look!

In our last Shelly blog, we mentioned how her fun and whimsical fashion sense made her a perfect choice for these style spotlights. But on top of that, we think she deserves the world…Plus!

Our collective hearts sank when we heard her poignantly talk about her struggles with image issues and eventually overcoming an eating disorder. But ever the optimist, she stands by what she endured and is proud of prevailing through these challenges. These days, she happily embraces her body and confidently loves herself.

It definitely showed as soon as she shimmied into our Kate – Ticker Tape:

“This is fat chick FABULOUS!” she cheekily exclaimed.

She beamed as she told us that her coworkers would often place friendly bets on what kind of Cherry Velvet dress she would come into the office with; our dresses were such a treat for everyone to lay their eyes on!

With the lovely neckline details, a full skirt + crinoline, it’s hard not to agree!

We hope you enjoyed Shelly’s inspiring words and gorgeous styling as much as we did. It is always such a pleasure to learn more about the beautiful souls that make our dresses even more stunning.

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If there’s one thing everyone can agree on, it’s that everything is so much more fun with a friend. Think of shopping and what do you think of? Hangin’ with your bestie! Vancouver is filled with so many beautiful souls who rep our dresses so well and we are so lucky to know two lovely ladies that stand out not only as gorgeous Cherry Velvet models, but incredible friends with a magical bond.

Seeing Veronica and Erin model together, you can tell that these two girls really “get each other’s crazy” (as Erin so aptly puts). Veronica is Samwise to Erin’s Frodo…Lilo to her Stitch…Ron to her Harry…We could obviously go on.

Models by day, Fangirls…always!

From Disney obsessions to Simpson References, these cuties are the perfect example of kindred spirits. Friends since 2006, they both met acting for a local playhouse – quickly bonding over assorted geekery and a shared passion for performance.

Just like true sisters (from different misters!), not only was Veronica one of Erin’s Elven bridesmaids for her themed wedding, but they’ve also supported each other in things like auditioning for the same role in a local production of “The Graduate”!

Cherry Velvet followers will already recognise Veronica as one of our favourite models, so it’s only fitting that she inspired Erin to connect with us as a model shortly after she became an official Cherry Velvet Girl.

Awhile back, we had the pleasure of shooting with these charismatic chickies for our Spring 2017 Lookbook. But between the impromptu singalongs and all the face pulling, we couldn’t help but feel like we were all hanging out like old friends. You definitely see how much fun these girls love to have.

…but when it came to lights, camera, action, these Princesses of Poise knew how to turn it on!

New Doris dresses coming soon!

“Together, we are… The ULTIMATE Plus Model!…” Veronica exclaimed.

“…She’s the T & I’m the A! Whenever we go lingerie shopping we always joke that she can’t find anything to fit her boobs, while I can’t find anything to fit my butt!” Erin added. (It’s adorable how they finish each other’s sentences.)

She also points out that they both love the Retro aesthetic and it was a dream come true to get the same chance with us that Veronica had. After seeing her in our dresses, Erin realised she wanted a chance to model dresses that were as unique as her. “It’s nice that curvy girls get to wear fun patterns and feel great!”

All it took was faith & trust (…and a little bit of pixie dust) and here she is!

As they slipped into this season’s gorgeous dresses, they commented that our pieces fit like a glove whether you’re an “Erin” or a “Veronica”.

Our straps are designed for comfort and support, so Veronica never has to worry about anything other than stopping traffic! No bra-strap slippage here. And Erin loves how our dresses nip at the waist so perfectly. Identifying as “pear-shaped”, she was delighted at how our fun and full skirts accentuate her curves without resorting to uncomfortable body hugging.

Veronica nodded knowingly, “I honestly feel like they’re cut and designed so that women can actually wear them.”

Well, hey! We can’t argue with that, can we? We just love the classic dress silhouette!

It certainly was an adventure with these daring Gryffindors & we hope you enjoyed this little glimpse at the unique people who help bring Cherry Velvet to life!

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Last year, for the first time ever, we offered size 4X. Later, the Plus Size community was buzzing about an article by Marcy Cruz of Plus Size Magazine, along with some prominent bloggers in the community, regarding size inclusivity (including sizes 22+).

At the same time, an avid Cherry Velvet Enthusiast and Plus Fashion blogger, Muffin Queen’s Closet, featured one of our 4X styles, the Brooke Tangerine Stardust.

Caught up in all this lovely press, we found ourselves in the rather (un)fortunate position of being sold out of 4X! It was wonderful that our 4X’s were a hit, but we felt terrible disappointing anyone who wanted a piece of Cherry Velvet for themselves.

Fast forward to a brand new year and we are delighted to announce that a new slew of gorgeous curvy dresses will be released, including the much sought after 4X!

When Cherry Velvet began, we were deeply committed to creating great fitting plus size dresses, originally offering sizes XL-3X. As we began to sell our dresses, we received feedback from our shops that Regular sizes were asking about our gorgeous dresses, too!

We soon made the decision to expand our size chart to include sizes small to large. Despite our commitment to Plus Sizing, it seemed like everyone wanted a little bit of Cherry Velvet. By the time we added XS, we were up to nine sizes!

After much feedback from admirers, we discovered that there were still women who wanted to be a Cherry Velvet girl, but were unable to! So we’ve decided to replace our XS option with 4X, to further refocus our shop’s mission to offer unique dresses and retro inspired prints to those who don’t have has much variety in their size.

This Spring, we’ll be offering 4X sizing in a few of our signature vintage inspired styles. All these dresses feature full skirts and pockets!

BrigitteOur best selling dress for a reason, our Brigitte features a flattering scoop neckline and a peek-a-boo back, finished with an adorable knot.

These 4X prints are available now! Regular (S-L) + Plus Sizes (XL-4X)

DorisOne of our most classic designs, our Doris features a fitted bodice with bra-cup seaming to emulate a retro corseted look!

BrookeWith a gorgeously full skirt, our Brooke features a sweetheart neckline and cute cap sleeves for even more added sweetness.

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Browse the pages of our Spring Lookbook to discover vintage inspired dresses for all occasions. This season, our collection focuses on gorgeous frocks inspired by the glamourous fifties and mod sixties.

While the weather still includes snow in some parts of the country, we want to give you something to look forward to! Aside from spring flowers, what could fit the bill more appropriately than pretty new dresses… Right?

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Of all the social media applications, Pinterest is surely my very favorite. I could (and do) spend hours pinning lovely photos to my boards all sorted by color and style. Not only is it fun for me, I really get work done too. It’s a great source of inspiration. Often details from the beautiful dresses and sewing patterns from the mid century give me ideas for the dresses I design for Cherry Velvet. One of my most recent Pinterest boards is one that I call Black over Nude. Quickly I realized that this board was going to be an inspiration for a new holiday dress that I ‘had’ to make. Here’s some of the images that inspired me:

Perhaps you saw the episode of Sex in the City when Carrie wears the “Naked Dress”. It was the dress she wore for her first date with Mr. Big. Titillated by the illusion of black lace and seemingly naked underneath, I like to think this is Cherry Velvet version of that iconic dress. Ours is a much more subtle suggestion of sexy, the ‘naked’ is of course barely implied. I think Black over Nude highlights the pattern of the lace and gives it a twist over the more classic black on black.

I knew I had to have it as my holiday dress. What will you wear this party season? Check out the Leah Lace Dress and our collection of holiday dresses.

XOX Cherry Velvet

P.S. If you’d like to shop in person (Vancouver B.C.), please call for an (informal) appointment or sign up for our mailing list so you’ll know when we’ll be open for shopping!

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Cherry Velvet girls love a good party, right? Our holiday look book will help you get set for all the festivities!

It’s always a great idea to have a dress or two in the closet for a special date or party that comes up unexpectedly. That way you’re not running around at the last minute trying to find something and settling for a dress that’s not really perfect for you.

For this holiday season get your Glam on and get ready to twirl! We have a whole range of gorgeous fabrics like taffeta, brocade, subtle metallics and lace too. Some colours are in very limited quantities!